Sustainability strategy

Environmental Policy

Environmental management is an essential element of sustainability and sustainable development at De Montfort University and is a cornerstone of the university’s Strategic Plan.

The university is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its activities at the local, regional, national and global levels. The university has set out its commitments to the environment in its Environmental Policy and has already made considerable progress in addressing environmental issues through its travel planning, recycling and energy saving activities.

A copy of the Environmental Policy can be downloaded here.

Policy recommendations for the Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability Strategy

The university is committed to sustainability and to working towards the aims of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of this commitment the university has developed a sustainability strategy for the whole university in consultation with staff, students and other stakeholders. We have avoided a 'bolt-on' approach, instead focusing on integrating sustainability into the very fabric of the university.

We seek to not only comply with current sustainability guidelines, but to become a leader in the field through adopting best practice. We are building on our teaching, learning and research strengths, whilst making De Montfort University (DMU) a more sustainable organisation. Through this approach, we hope to minimise our environmental impact and create a healthy and inspiring place to work and learn.

Strategy's main themes	Level
Teaching: Inspiring Sustainability	To help staff and students become responsible ‘global’ citizens in the face of the environmental challenges ahead of them.
Research: Thinking Sustainability	To develop groundbreaking and interdisciplinary research that advances knowledge on sustainability and establishes DMU as a leader in this sector.
Built Environment: Being Sustainability	To reduce our environmental impact and be an exemplar of best practice.
Health and Well-Being: Living Sustainability	To ensure DMU is a healthy, creative and inspiring ‘space’ to study and work.
Community Engagement: Leading Sustainability	To establish DMU as a beacon of best practice, a centre of research excellence for sustainability and an ambassador locally, regionally and beyond.

Sustainability Targets

DMU is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its activities and services. To do this this, the university recognises the importance of setting out a strategy to achieve ambitious environmental goals. Our Sustainability Strategy sets out Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-bound (SMART) targets for reducing it’s environmental impact on the follow:

Construction & Refurbishment
Emissions & Discharge
Community involvement
Biodiversity
Waste management
Travel and Transport
Sustainable procurement
Water

A copy of the Sustainability Targets document can be downloaded here.

Sustainability Performance

The annual sustainability report contains information on our current sustainability performance across a wide range of areas and information on our progress towards the 17 SDGs. The annual sustainability report is presented to the university's Operational Leadership Group and then discussed and approved by the university's University Leadership Board before being made available through this webpage. Copies of the report can be downloaded by clicking on the images of the reports on this page. Any comments regarding the report should be made to the sustainability team at sustainability@dmu.ac.uk.

Sustainability Governance

Sustainability governance has in the past been managed through the Sustainable Development Task Force (SDTF) which provided an opportunity for staff and students to engage with the development and implementation of key strategic plans such as the Carbon Management Plan, Sustainability Strategy and Environmental Policy. The SDTF membership included staff and student representatives. The SDTF has evolved into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Committee and receives updates and progress reports on sustainability strategies and objectives. These updates are then reported to Operational Leadership Group (OLG) and the University Leadership Board. The SDG Committee meets three times a year. Membership of the SDG Committee is listed below.

PVC Sustainability and Dean of Health & Life Sciences – Simon Oldroyd (Chair)

A/Dir SDG Impact. Theme Dir Net Zero – Mark Charlton (Deputy Chair)

Education for Sustainable Development Forum Chair - Andrew Reeves

Senior Media Officer – Claire Roberts

Sustainability Manager – Karl Letten

Interim Assoc. Dean R&I – Raffaella Villa

Senior Assistant Librarian – Phil Adams

Senior Lecturer – Neil Brown

Student Union – Nyashadzashe Nguwo

Head of Procurement – Martin Satchwell

Associate Dean (International) – Manjeet Ridon

Executive Personal Assistant to PVC – Joanne Curtis